STONE BRIDGE IN ZOVIC VILLAGE, NOVACI

ZOVIKJ VILLAGE
It is assumed that the village of Zovikj has existed in this place since the 16th-17th century. Previously, the village was located about 500 meters away, in the locality called Lenishte. That village burned to the ground, after which the inhabitants settled in today's location.
The original name of the village is B'zovic, because of the elderberry plant which is abundant here. The village is hilly and mountainous, the houses are built with natural materials - stone, mud and wood. From 388 inhabitants in 1961, when a fourth-grade school existed, today less than 10 permanent residents live in the village. The number of visitors increases on weekends and the summer period, primarily because of the pure nature, peace, silence, and the feeling as if the time has stopped here.
The village was completely displaced during the First World War because it was on the front line. The Bulgarian army was stationed in the village, and the villagers were expelled from their homes.
Near the village, on Marta Hill, there is also the church ``Saint Athanasius`` built in the 17th century.
About an hour's walk away, along Crna Reka, there is the monastery ``St. Demetrius`` – Chebren, whose patron is the protector of the village. STONE BRIDGE OF RIVER GRADESHKA
On the Gradeshka River, there is a beautiful stone building - the bridge of Zovikj.
The stone bridge is located in the near of the village. Its purpose was to bridge the Gradeshka River. It was built for the purpose of communication of the population with the inhabited territories on the other side of the river, with the villages of Beshishte and Polchishte in Mariovo.
In the medieval period, there was probably a wooden bridge at the place of the stone bridge, which, according to residents of the village, was demolished when it was overloaded during transport on one occasion.
On the spot of the present stone bridge, until 1950 there was a wooden bridge that was not very reliable and was narrow. According to the testimony of willagers, the bridge had broken under weight of a local villager who led over the bridge overloaded wagon. When they reached the middle of the bridge, it had broken down and the villager Velko with the vagon and oxen fell into the river. Fortunately, in the mill under the bridge there were millers who immediately ran and saved Velko and oxen.
Veljko was taken to the hospital in Bitola, despite the serious injuries he suffered and a certain degree of disability he reacted very old age.
On the spot of the old wooden bridge, the willage decided to build the present stone bridge, in order to reinforce the communication to the other side of the river.
With the efforts of the local population and the collectives the stone bridge was built in the year 1955/6. The builder was certain Gjuladin or Dzhuladin who came from the willage Labunishta, Struga which together with his workers lived in the willage until the bridge was built and each house had to take care of them for a certain period of time.
Although the whole village was gathering stone to build the bridge and a lot of trees were brought for the bridge, yet it was not completed from the local people from Zovikj. So the bridge remained unfinished, as it started to be damaged, and so the danger of another collapse re-emerged.
In 2014 the mill and the bridge are repaired and they got the current look.
The bridge is one of the most beautiful architectural building in region. It is build of stone or carved and half-carved stone blocks. It has got arched shape and is adapted to the terrain configuration. In the lower part near the river side of the village Zovikj there is a mill used by the population to grind grain. The mill is build of stone and was covered with stone slabs. RIVER GRADESHKA
The spring of Gradeshka River is located at the foot of the Macedonian-Greek border, in the mountainous locality called Urup, and in the upper watercourse it is called Urupska River.
The spring is located at an altitude of 1.600 meters. Its flow is Koselska River and other smaller springs and fountains. The length of the Gradeshka River watercourse is 26 kilometers. The direction of the flow is to the west and runs through the village Gradeshnica, in the north-east it goes through Staravina gorge and at the village Zovikj it turns to the north, where it merges with the river Satoka. On the right side Gradeshka River joins with Besishka River. The increased flow of Gradeshka River goes into the River Crna at 410m and 3km downstream from Chebren.
The surface of the basin is 116 km². In the spring section the incline of the Gradeshka River is 7.28%, while in its last section it is 5.58%.